The basic idea behind discussing and researching Irish Travellers is to better understand their culture as well as how they are considered a subculture. By focusing on one topic like this people can help to better understand why subcultures exist and how they function. Not only does it allow us to examine the individual subculture but the terms and knowledge surrounding this topic will help to give a deeper perspective on aspects that we may not consider qualify as part of the subculture community. Irish Travellers have always been a group that people either misunderstand or just forget about when it comes to examining cultures as well as that culture within society. Irish Travellers are a group of people that tend to govern themselves, although …show more content…
Within the show one of the main characters is Irish and grew up within the Traveller community. The family relationship between him and his other family members is difficult because he is a police officer and the main way they make their living is through crime activity. Most of the crimes committed by the members of this particular community are petty crimes, such as theft. To me it is interesting to see how the relationship within the community and the outside world is so complicated. In many respects the relationships with the people inside of the Irish Traveller community is tenuous. Not only is it difficult to deal with their own community but the outside world causes them problems daily. This is also noted in Crossing Lines as people tend to take advantage of their situation, that is because they have no permeant home, people of a worse criminal nature tend to see this as an opportunity to use their communities as a way of expanding their business. These criminal behaviours tend to involve drugs and other crimes that are by many deemed as worse than those committed by the Irish Traveller. On the other hand, many of the Irish Travellers are or were referred to as Tinkers. Most of the time, today they are referred to as Travellers. The reason they received the name Tinkers is because of their professions, which as mentioned can often involve crime activity however, this is …show more content…
They are more concentrated in Ireland and Britain but throughout history they have travelled to different areas in Europe. Mobility and nomadism is one of the most important factors that separates the Irish Travellers from many subcultures or countercultures. They travel together creating strong bonds between families and individuals, this creates a very tight nit community. People tend to make assumptions based on the behaviour of the Irish Travellers as well as the history of the group. Because the Irish Travellers tend to stay within their communities they have created their own ways of communicating. These include markers and a language of their own. The markers can be things such twigs being broken, or stones being turned, this is a common practice to let others in the travel community know what direction the Travellers are going. The second aspect of communication is their own language. This is called Cant or Gammon by the Travellers and by academics it is referred to as Shelta. Many of the outsiders to these communities see the language and markers as an independent culture from the mainstream because they are
During what is known as the Gilded Age, there was major changes happening in the US. These changes included industrialization, population increase, along with cities rising up and big business like the railroad company coming about as well. These were just a few of the many changes that were occurring. One of the biggest occurrences in the US was immigration. Imagine you and your family leaving your homeland to a completely new world where there is a language you might not be able to understand or speak. These immigrant groups not only relocated throughout different states but immigrant were moving to specific cities to the best places they felt accepted. As an example we had many immigrant groups that came to Saint Louis, Missouri. One of the biggest immigrant groups to populate Saint Louis was the Irish. Unfortunately the Irish were not as accepted in Saint Louis as they hoped to be, but still lived their life despite the hatred.
The Irish American Scholar Program will significantly enhance my educational goals for school as well as my life experiences. The unique opportunity this program offers coincides with a family value of expanding one’s knowledge beyond the small bubble of the everyday and exploring the world. The value of embracing new opportunities started with my grandfather when he broke away from the norm of his family and expanded his boundaries. His family, traditionally, lived and moved together, but when his family moved to Michigan, my grandfather decided to remain in Arkansas and join the Air Force, allowing him to travel not only in the United States but abroad to England. Similarly, my father decided to go to college several hours away from his family at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. This decision led him to a career with the government where he was able to experience several different cultures in the workplace and abroad. Being surrounded by inspirational family members has inspired me to pursue my own unique experience.
These descriptions tend to be narrower and more specific categories (Montecel, M. R.). Within the article, “Sticks and Stones: The Irish Identity” the author talks about how the image of being Irish has changed within the American error over the image of a human being. This opinion relates to socio type because people tend to look at only what they are wearing, but this does not hurt the individual in any way. Then there is the stereotype; this is when someone has a mental category that is an exaggeration and is an incorrect idea of people that tend to be unfavorable (Montecel, M. R.). In the article, the author talks about how the main character is debating on how to explain his identity to the airport cop because the description will change the police point of view and demeanor towards him. For example, the author states, “when the airport cops ask me what I am, how do I explain that I live in the northern, eastern segment of an island sliced like a cheap pizza and with as many rifles as a bar full of yuppie cocktails” (Wilson, R. M. 1997). This quote shows that there are many ways to describe his area because he has heard different stereotypes with his area of living. This statement also shows the difference between how simple to how harsh the description could be of the main characters Irish
“One thing I think is certain that if the emigrants knew before hand what they have to suffer for about the first six months after leaving home in every respect they would never come here.”
In the story Dubliners by James Joyce, he writes about a few different themes, some of these being autonomy, responsibility, light, and dark. The most important of the themes though must be the individual character in the story against the community and the way they see it. I have chosen to take a closer look at “Araby,” “Eveline,” and “The Dead” because the great display of these themes I feel is fascinating. Many things affect the way the individual characters see the community, for example their family, friends, fellow citizens, or even new places. In Dubliners, the way the characters see the community affects them and other people around them.
Irish American Magazine, Aug.-Sept. 2009. Web. The Web. The Web. 06 May 2014.
Immigrants from around the world wanted to migrate to the United States in search for better opportunities because the United States’ economy was blooming during this time period. Immigrants did not only came to the United States for better jobs, but also for the freedom that the United States gave to its people. Each group of immigrant had their own reason to migrate to the United States. For example, the Irish fled to the United States in the 19th century because the English was oppressing them. This was the reason that led to the first wave of Irish immigration. “The Irish were dispossessed of their island by the English Prosperos. The Irish, too, were depicted and degraded as the ‘Other’- as ‘savages,’ outside of ‘civilization,’ and ‘wild.’
The concepts 'Social Control' and 'Deviance' have more than one definition to me, my understandings of these terms are that they try to group, control and define different kinds of anti-social behaviour. In this essay I will be reflecting on how certain topics have deviant labels attached to them as a result of social control. I will be explaining my initial understanding and views of these topics, going on to explain how they may have been changed, challenged or reinforced after attending lectures and using the sources available to me to expand my knowledge. Also, I will be using evidence from texts I have read to support these views and considering how these contribute to the inner-relationship between 'deviance' and social control. The key topics I will be demonstrating this with are Teenage Mothers, Eugenics, Deviant Bodies and The Cultural Degeneration of Travellers. These topics highlight key areas in which deviant labels are attached to groups of people by social control and how society has tried to control people's views in order to separate class and be in command of what should be seen as acceptable behaviour.
All three films involve the political situation in Northern Ireland but also share a general concern with those on the margins of Irish society (McLoone, 2003). Traveller takes a look at the life of a newlywed traveller couple whose marriage was an arranged one. The two travel to Northern Ireland to smuggle contraband back across the border to sell. Travellers in Ireland at this time were on the margins of Irish society and not many people knew a lot about their way of life. This film also touches on real issues of this time, cross border smuggling was everyday part of life in border towns both North and South of the border.
...ng Pot” analogy holds true as well as the “cycle of assimilation” theory. The Irish came, their culture conflicted with the existing culture, and then they were slowly accepted into mainstream American culture and melded into the “Melting Pot”. As far as my analogy goes, the Irish would be something like celery. It absorbs and releases a lot of flavor but only maintains some its own identity within the American Stew. If someone were eating it, they may only be able to recognize the celery by certain characteristics such as texture(last name) or appearance(red hair and freckles), otherwise, much of the original qualities of the celery has been sacrificed in the cooking process.
...nguage and art to interpret a better of understanding of Ireland’s symbols. The fourth section of the essay focused on the ethnicity/racial, weather, terrain, and military elements of the country. The last section gave insight to a few of the culture’s contributions to the world.
The word culture can be used and explained in many different ways. The most common use of the word culture is to define a set of values, beliefs and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Many people understand the meaning of culture as a way of life. In different countries, regions or states all over the world have a different ways of doing, completing, celebrating, recognizing, or handling situations to the way they live their daily lives. Most every culture have a way of identifying themselves, either by a Flag, song, or a dance to express their way of life or show their pride. For example, the culture of Ireland has many different meanings and symbols that are unique to the country of Ireland. Ireland is often called the ‘land of saints and scholars’ referring to the golden age of monastic learning, or the ‘emerald isle’ referring to the golden landscape. Ireland has its own flag broken into sections symbolizing different parts of their culture, a constitution for the people, a National
There are an estimated 21,000 travellers currently living in the Republic of Ireland, over half of whom have no access to toilet facilities, electricity, refuse collection or piped water. In the past they invariably travelled, but misguided government policy from the 1960s onward ensured that many were persuaded to settle in houses – a policy that, in undermining traditional values and lifestyle, is increasingly questioned, if not actively altered. Traditionally, they were metal workers, hawkers, traders in horses and used goods of all description, and provided services where and when there were gaps in the market. This resistance to wage labour and alternative cultural definition of work led to charges of idleness by the uncomprehending. The necessity of living on their wits led to a stereotype of travellers as shrewd, even cunning, dealers.
Tovey, H and Share, P. (2002). Sociology of Ireland. 2nd ed. Dublin: Gill & Macmillen.
Anthropology and Tourism: A Sociological Comparison There are multiple similarities and differences between anthropology and tourism. Similar because they both involve observing the culture of another society, but different in how it is conducted and how it can affect people. Anthropology is meant to be respectful, ask for permission, and make sure that there is no obstruction of boundaries. The main goal of anthropology is to research and understand the way people do things and how the society works. Tourism, on the other hand, can be seen as obtrusive and offensive to the host’s culture.